Spring operated mechanical toy



Dec. 25, 1934. v F. J. GUSTINE 1,985,657

SPRING OPERATED MECHANICAL TOY Filed April 2'7, 1934 3nnentor Z? J usfine Qitorneg Patented Dec. 25, 1934 i 1151 11rs=1)sinrule-s PATENT QJ J Q i I invention ire lates to improvements in the operation of spring operatedmechanical .toys, it consists inpr vidin aspet constru ion of s r n ope atedspi nine to s i whi t op ar mi taneously 's db th op rat o e sam spring; inwhich one. top is .used as akey to wind up the spring containedinthe other top; and in which the two tops are held"in t he-position o s nn n nt l o p d p nt do to ffioor, or other jhardlsurface, .whenbothtops are t n y mat c l e a dbut ial tboth tops: a at 'th m e a tom ical y pun by the some, leach s n i on its o tpoi t- I H "Thednventiondelates more :especially to-cer- 'tain improvements onmy patent No. 655,621, grantedAugust "7; 1900; and entitled spring opertee me he i QY.Q I 1Q 9} l i ll v In the arrangement shown in thefprior pati nti t d"" ficu1t: r cons ru t "t w in such a way that" the device-was commercially practicable, {without-entailing prohibitive "ex pense. In other'words,*toys of'this; d areprimarily intended for rough usag'e, and: are ino ve i faib i t: m h 5: t e f ob careofamechanicalfdevice.

i'The-itoy shown in the prior patent, therefore, "soon got 'out f-ordeEand prQVEd unsatisfactory *for various reasons The present "invention is inten ded to provide a cheap. and rugged structure adapted to stand the-Tough usage-to -whieh'the device is designed and which may be cheaply made and assembled.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and willbe more particularly pointed out in the claim appended hereto.

In the drawing, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a detail perspective view of the upper top in spinning position.

Figure 2 is a like view of the lower top, the dotted lines showing the spring and adjacent parts.

Figure 3 is a vertical section. taken through the toy showing the upper and lower tops assem bled and wound and locked together ready for launching or dropping.

Figure 4 is a detail enlarged top plan view of the lower top, showing the spindle and sleeve arrangement.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view of the lower top after spinning and with its spring relaxed.

, spindle 13 which may beof any desired construe al ly' or radially extending pin 16 to. provide .a winding ,key and a locking pawl cooperating with shoulder 19 for interlocking the two spindles when the upper spindle and top are turned in one "Figure Sis adetail sideelevationlof. thespindle .of .the lower top, the .dotted lines showing the sheet metal blank form n lthe spindle,. and

"Figure 7 is a detail sectional view throughthe upper top, showing-the spindle mounting therein. 5

Referring now to thejdrawing, andlfirst tQfFIig- .ure 3, the toy comprises an upper toplO. and a lowertop 11. These topsare of substantially the same construction, and each comprises a pair ,of concaveconvex sections .of sheetmetal or the 10 like, which arejjoined'together at their marginal edges by anoverturnedseam'12 to provide a pair of. hollow bodies.

" The upper top 10 carries coaxially a rigid tion and which projects, above the body of the top 10 .andis suitably tapered as at'14' to insure thefalling or" the. top with the end 14 uppermost. The lower end, of the spindlejjle is. provided with a tapered blunt endj.l5 .upon whichthe ,top is adapted to spin when depositedpr launched upon a fiat surface, such. as the floor or -other ;hard ,smooth surface. The spindle J lgis provided in spaced relation to its lower end 15.with a laterthelower top 11 aswill s'ubsequentlyappear.

. The lower: top 11 carries, axially, a longitudinally shiftable spindle l7 having a tapered blunt end 18 upon which the lower top may spin and the spindlef 177extends above thbody-of thetop I1 and? "is ;provid e'd-" at" its; upper-end with' *a shoulder '19 preferably formed 'by the provision-bra cam surface 20 in the upper edge of the spindle 17, the latter being preferably hollow and, as shown in Figure 6, constructed of a rolled sheetmetal blank out to form. The lower end of the upper spindle 13 projects into the upper hollow end of the lower spindle 1'7 and the pin 16 engages the direction.

The lower spindle 1'7 is normally held raised by a contracting coil spring 21 secured at its lower end 22 through perforations formed in the wall of the spindle 1'7, and at its upper end is secured to the upper wall of the lower top 11.

The spring 21, as shown in Figure 5, normally supports the spindle 17 in raised position, and also holds it yieldingly against turning in the body of the lower top.

Suitably fixed to the upper portion of the lower top 11, and about the spindle 1'7, is a locking sleeve 23. The sleeve 23 provides a bearing for the upper end of the spindle 17, in which the 55 ceive the outer end portion of the pin 16 thereagainst after the upper top has been turned and forced downwardly to place the spring 21 under tension both torsionally and as to lengthwise stretching.

The spiral spring 21 is preferably made of steel wire and is of sufficient length to admit of the desired winding of the toy so that when the spring is released the upperand lower sections will be given the necessary turning movement to effect spinning. i

In order to operate thetoy, the upper spindle 13 is inserted at its lower end into the top of the lower spindle 17. The lower top 11 is grasped in one hand and the upper top is grasped in the other hand. The two tops are turned relatively in a position to engage the pin 16 of the upper spindle with the shoulder '19 of the lower spindle so that the lower spindle is turned in the lower top during the winding action.

At the same time the upper top .10 is depressed toward the lower top 11 so as to bring the pin 16 adjacent the one or more shoulders 24. The turning and downward sliding movement of the spindle 17 not only stretches the spiral spring 21, but also places the same under torsional strain, so that there is a tendency for the spindle 1'? to turn backwardly to normal position and to also rise through the lower top 11. The pin 16 is forced down into engagement with the shoulder 24 when the tops are wound sufficiently and the torsional pressure of the spring 21, acting through the spindle 1'7 and the shoulder 19, is suflicient to frictionally hold-the pin 16 against the locking shoulder. 7

After the two tops have been wound together under the desired tension, they may be dropped as a unit so that the point 18 of the lower spindle 17 strikes the floor or other hard support-ing surface, and the jar is sufficient, supplemented by the inertia of the lower top body 11, to dislodge the shoulder 24 from the pin 16 so that the spring 21 not only reacts against the two spindles 13 and 17 to turn them in opposite directions, but also acts to eject the upper spindle 13 out of the top of the lower spindle 1'7. During this action the shoulder 19 is maintained for a sufficient period of time in pressing contact with the pin 16 so as to rapidly turn the upper spindle 13 with the upper top body 10 in a direction opposite to the turning of the locking sleeve 23 and its .the device more attractive, and the contours of the two tops may also be varied if desired.

' On account of cheapness in construction however, it is desirable to make the two tops identical in construction with the exception of minor changes required for the mounting of the different spindles 13 and 17 and the locking sleeve 23.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claim.

What is claimed is:

A mechanical toy comprising a pair of hollow tops, a fixed spindle carried by one top with a laterally projecting pin spaced from the lower end of the spindle and said spindle being provided with reduced opposite ends, an axially movable spindle carried in the other top, said movable spindle being hollow to receive the lower end of the fixed spindle, said second spindle having a connectingshoulder in its upper end for receiving said pin for turning the spindles together when the. fixed spindle is rotated in one direction, a

locking sleeve carried by the second top about the spindle thereof and having a locking shoulder to receive said pin thereagainst when turned to register therewith, and a helical contractile wire spring disposed within the second top and connected at its lower end to said movable spindle and connected at its upper end to the under side of the upper portion of the second top, said spring being movable from an expanded position within the upper and lower portions of the top to a position of rest entirely within the upper portion of the top.

FRANKLIN J. GUSTINE. 

